Peds Reviews

Brinton et al. found that five elementary-age children with DLD rarely described characters’ mental states (responses, plans, emotions) when generating stories and struggled to answer direct questions about characters’ mental states. The authors suggest that children with DLD may have difficulty with social and emotional concepts.

Chenausky et al. found that baseline phonetic inventory and ADOS scores were most predictive of speech target approximations post-speech therapy in minimally verbal children with autism (more than IQ, language, age). And that’s not terribly surprising (except the age part—cool that they made good speech gains in older elementary children!). Perhaps the more interesting thing about this study, though, is what they did in speech therapy. It’s called “auditory motor map training”, and is basically the addition of rhythm (tapping drums) and intonation (singing the speech targets) to speech therapy. The researchers are finding that adding these tactile and auditory cues is better than not having them; so worth trying!

Cooke and Millard asked school-aged children who stutter what they considered to be the most important therapy outcomes. The children reported increased fluency, independence, and confidence, as well as others knowing how to support them and how to make communication situations feel easier. This study serves as a good reminder that stuttering is more than dysfluent speech. The cognitive (thoughts and attitudes) and affective (feelings) components should also play a role in how we evaluate therapy outcomes.

Dyson et al. taught 20 vocabulary words to elementary-age children with low vocabulary scores using examples, games, and worksheets. After 10 weeks of 20-minute small-group sessions, children learned five new words on average; significantly more than children in a control group. (Email the authors for free materials!)

Giusto and Ehri found that third-graders with poor decoding and average listening comprehension benefitted from a partial-read aloud test accommodation with pacing (PRAP). When examiners read aloud only directions, proper nouns, and multiple choice questions, the students improved their reading comprehension of the test passages. Although you may not be directly assessing these students, these findings may be helpful if you’re ever in the position to recommend accommodations for this subset of children.

Gough Kenyon et al. found that, compared to typical peers, 10- to 11-year-olds with developmental language disorder (DLD) struggled with making elaborative inferences (drawing on background knowledge not stated) but not cohesive inferences (linking information given) after reading a passage. They suggest targeting elaborative inferencing to boost reading comprehension for children with DLD.

Millard et al. add to the evidence base for Palin Parent–Child Interaction Therapy for young children who stutter, finding a reduction in stuttering severity and improvements in both parent and child attitudes and confidence following a year of participation in the program.

Sabri & Fabiano-Smith analyzed a case study and found that, given early implantation and support in both languages, a bilingual child with cochlear implants can acquire two phonological systems, although likely at a slower rate than other bilingual children.

Using (and maybe struggling with) the Lidcombe Program with your young clients who stutter? Van Eerdenbrugh et al. studied the challenges clinicians have with implementing the program and surveyed experts to come up with solutions.